1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for conveying and storing streams or flow lines of rod-shaped articles, more specifically, cigarettes, by means of displaceable belts which are provided with engagement means for the cigarettes.
The need to convey cigarettes, either individually or in flows of cigarettes disposed parallel to and at right angles to the conveying direction arises in various sections of a production line for the manufacture and packaging of cigarettes and the like. The present invention relates specifically to the storage problem associated with the conveying of cigarettes. Cigarette storage units of the type in question are generally provided in a suitable position between the cigarette production units (extrusion machines) and the packaging machines to compensate temporary breakdowns of the machine on one side or the other by connecting in the cigarette storage unit, more specifically, by filling or emptying the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of storage units are used for this purpose. These generally operate with rotating endless belts on which engagement means for conveying cigarettes individually or in flow lines are disposed. When cigarettes are being conveyed individually, more specifically, vertically, each cigarette is individually taken up and advanced by an engagement means. When flow lines of adjacent and superposed cigarettes are being conveyed, the engagement means penetrate the flow of cigarettes. When a cigarette flow line is vertically advanced, projecting members are disposed on each side of the belt.
In the conveying and storage device described in German Offenlegungsschrift 2,353,806 the belts are provided with triangular projections. These only penetrate a relatively short distance -- relative to the breadth or height of the cigarette flow -- into the flow and thereby advance the latter. This also applies to vertical flow lines. The actual engagement members consist of triangular or wedge-shaped hollow elements made of soft rubber or rubber-like material. The depth to which the engagement members penetrate the cigarette flow is about one fifth of the breadth of the flow.
The conveying performance of the engagement means provided in the above-described device for conveying and storing cirgarettes is inadequate. In addition, the cigarettes are not always satisfactorily protected from mechanical stressing during penetration of the engagement members into the cigarette flow. Lastly, the above-described engagement members offer only limited opportunities for varying the control of cigarette flow lines.